London Fashion Week: Carpe Diem

Burberry

A little snowfall is no problem — even inside — if you have proper raingear to protect you, so the models at the Burberry Prorsum London Fashion Week show on Monday had no complaints about the artificial snow cascading down on the catwalk for the finale.

The models were, of course, kept dry by a modern variation of the formidable Burberry raincoat, in this case reduced to a jacket-sized transparent piece with black detailing that allowed the models' outfits to show through.

The snow was dramatic, but the outfits were the main attraction. Once again, Burberry design czar Christopher Bailey wowed a celebrity-laden crowd with his dresses, coats, flared pant-suits and other ensembles that played with the traditional Burberry style without seeking to replicate it in every outfit.

The company's military heritage was evident in the epaulettes, buckles and braiding on many of the coats and dresses, but the clothes were soft, feminine and witty.

The Burberry show has been a centrepiece of fashion week in recent seasons as Bailey has helped revitalise the brand after years of drift. The extravaganza drew top models, including Lily Donaldson, and American Vogue editor Anna Wintour along with stylish TV personality Alexa Chung.

Bailey dipped into the Burberry archives for his inspiration for the collection, inspired by images of swinging '60s icon Jean Shrimpton.

He married that vision of wide-eyed English chic with his musing on the weather. He played on the theme of coat dressing, combining different textures — fur with tweed or knits with leather trim.

"I loved the idea of playing with all these textures. I loved the idea of playing with cashmeres, with fur, with wools, with silks with jerseys," he said. "For me it was about the combination of everything that made things feel new."

Bailey is credited with giving the company a cutting edge image while still paying homage to its traditional, more conservative designs. So there was plenty of plaid — as one might expect with Burberry — but it went far beyond the traditional check.

Coats came in mustard or black or red — some with voluminous sleeves. One take off on the classic trench came in white wool knit.

Bailey, 39, tried to set a mood he described as light and fun, starting with a visual display of a snowstorm and then using a snow machine during the finale. The audience seemed intrigued as guests in the front row reached forward to try to see what the falling flakes were made of.

Julien Macdonald

From punk to choral hymns, from brooding and gothic to sweet and angelic — Julien MacDonald dished up not only beautiful clothes, but an impressively dramatic performance.

A series of black dresses in intricate lace, mesh and chiffon opened the show to a punk soundtrack, which mellowed out as the clothes gradually acquired soft pastel tones of lavender, pale salmon and buttercream.

Speaking after the show, MacDonald said the story behind the collection was a rich girl who wanted to escape her life and become a rocker.

A key look was dresses with a long, transparent train in pleated chiffon that flowed out from a skirt's back slit, creating a fluid mermaid silhouette. One particularly striking example had a vest bodice with a sexy lace back and an ethereal black train that shimmered with peacock tones.

The softness of the lace and chiffon was balanced with cropped leather jackets and bulky fur coats — some dangling with what looked like fox tails.

Paul Smith

Paul Smith stuck to his signature pin-striped suits and mannish dress coats in his new womenswear collection, dressing his models in skinny cropped pants, flat patent loafers, waistcoats and school ties.

The look was Annie Hall and Patti Smith-inspired, the silhouette was unapologetically androgynous, the attitude was nonchalant and urban. In fact, with those large black-framed glasses and dishevelled hair, the models look much like the hipsters that roam the trendy areas of cities like London and New York.

"This was a pure Paul Smith show," the designer said. "I wanted this to be totally focused."

There was nary a skirt in sight, although coats and jodhpurs in juicy, warm tones of orange and magenta, as well as a couple of delicate see-through silk blouses in burgundy and violet, injected some traditional femininity.

Christopher Kane

Christopher Kane delivered a knockout collection during the busiest day of the week.

The Scottish designer opened with hand-knitted cashmere crochet and printed leather, followed by a series of on-trend midi-length dresses featuring integrated hunks of curvy plastic. He finished with a series of super-polished, shimmering looks. "Sterile," was the first word the designer said backstage after the show. "I wanted something clean, polished and beautiful. Strict."

This season Kane's use of unexpected materials saw plastic filled with liquid — vegetable oil and glycerine, to be precise. The designer said this was inspired by the bubbling fizz of the liquid in a SodaStream and lava lamps.

The designer's inspiration for his show was the film Pollock, and specifically the artist Jackson Pollock's wife, Lee Krasner. "I imagined an artist's wife in Harry Winstone jewels, ripping up canvases and wearing them herself."

The accomplished collection turned its back on the pretty florals, from which he made his name, for a moodier aesthetic. A blurred abstract pattern appeared throughout on cocktail dresses, maxi skirts, blouses and shoes.

Picking up on an emerging London trend for mixing textures together, there was velvet embellished with crystals and dresses featuring various fabrics panelled together.